Make everything as simple as possible but not simpler - Albert Einstein
This is a follow up on Angela Duckworth’s Grit, after having explored grit in details previously. Angela had given some tips on how to build grit in you as well as your children. In her family there is this rule whereby every family member needs to be doing their hard thing daily.
A hard thing is something whereby you need to do in order to achieve your ultimate goal or goals. For example if I want to become a writer, I will need to write on a daily basis. Please bear in mind this is also known as deliberate practice, doing your hard thing with purpose. As for kids they might not have an ultimate goal in mind yet. But they can get to choose what they would like to do and that is considered hard to them. Practising the piano on a daily basis could be considered a hard thing for them. In order not to practise blindly, hire or coach, instructor or tutor who is good at teaching that particular subject and they did excel in them. Malcom Gladwell idea of 10 000 hour rule will give you a better idea of deliberate practise.
Credit: blog.kissmetrics.com
To do a deliberate practice on your hard thing on a daily basis.
You can quit, but one cannot quit until the season is over, until the tuition fee is up or when one really think that the particular subject in practice is no longer worth it as it does not align with the ultimate goal or purpose. One cannot quit when one is having a bad day or when one is being yelled at by the instructor, show up and follow through with no excuses.
One gets to choose their own hard thing, nobody picks it for you since no one knows exactly what excites you. Angela’s daughter went through a few activities before discovering her passion with viola, she had been practicing viola for the past 3 years and the interest has waxed rather than waned.